Tag Archives: pyramid

This is the SEVENTH in a series of “do-over” posts that are being created to make up for the mobile blogging errors that occurred during my last trip to Orlando.

The “pearly gates” of Disney. Day 3 started out with a few hours of work; income is a good thing, as it supports the Disney habit, so I’m not complaining! On my way to EPCOT, I hopped off I4 at Apopka-Vineland Road. There’s a Starbucks there 🙂 After getting my treat (I was a good little worker bee, so I deserved a treat, right?), I purposely passed the entrance, made a U-turn, and doubled back so I could stop at the light and get this picture (above) before turning into Disney property. This is “Pearly Gates, Jr.”.

No parking mojo at Disney. The parking mojo was not too terrible; Discover 13 isn’t bad at all. It could be far worse. To be honest, I don’t really think parking mojo applies at Disney World. They’re so busy telling you where to park, it’s unlikely that mojo will have a chance to exert itself. Still, this was not terrible.

It’s a blue sky Disney day. Ah, look at that blue, blue sky! Yes, it really IS that color. Those are jacaranda trees to the left, which grow just before Spaceship Earth/the geosphere. Next time I come back, which will be in May (conference/credits to maintain my professional certification), the jacaranda will will hopefully be in bloom. Spring came mighty early this year – I’m going to guess that everything is about three weeks ahead of schedule, all up and down the Eastern states. I’m hoping that the jacaranda will wait for me!

Jiminy Cricket! I was not in any particular hurry on this day, so I just adopted a meandering, vague touring style. First stop – a browse through The Art Of Disney store, just to the side of Spaceship Earth, where I saw this cute little Jiminy Cricket figurine.

Croc encounter. Next, I popped into Mouse Gear across the plaza, where I encountered the strangest pair of Crocs I’ve ever seen. It’s got a canvas upper, like a regular loafer, but the foot bed is pure Crocs. Weird!

EPCOT’s snapdragon sea. After a satisfying browse through Mouse Gear (I want it noted: I have been in two stores full of Disney merchandise so far, and purchased NOTHING!), I became interested in examining EPCOT for signs of Flower and Garden Festival preparations. It’s rare that I’m in the Disney parks when there is NOT some sort of festival or celebration going on, so the entrance was looking a bit spare to me. I wanted signs of festivular activity! The first thing I encountered was a sea of snapdragons. They were quite impressive!

EPCOT flower power. Just beyond the snapdragon sea, near the entrance to the Rose Walk, the flower power landscape of EPCOT was taking shape. The display on this side of the lagoon was pristine and orderly – and it smelled divine! It boggles the mind to think of how many pansies were painstakingly started, seed by seed, to become this magical landscape.

EPCOT’s hard hat mystery men. I came upon a section that was partitioned off by a marching row of vegetation. Peering through a space in the wall, I spied a small knot of men in hard hats and safety vests, conferring seriously with one another. Who could they be, and what could they be talking about, hidden there behind the shrubbery?